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The company was set up on 14 June 1967 (1967-06-14) by Air France, the BOAC enterprise, and the Government of Mauritius, with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co. Ltd., the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC in Mauritius.[9]

By April 1980 (1980-04), the company had 414 employees and a fleet of one Boeing 707-420, one Boeing 737-200 and two Twin Otters to serve a route network of passenger and cargo services to Bombay, London, Nairobi, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rome and Tananarive. Ownership of the company had changed to have the government of Mauritius as the major shareholder (42.5%), followed by Rogers & Co. (17.5%), Air France and British Airways (15% each) and Air India (10%).[14] Air Mauritius acquired a second-hand Boeing 707-320B in 1981. It had previously belonged to South African Airways (SAA), and permitted the airline to return the Boeing 707-400 to British Airtours. In November 1981 (1981-11), a joint service between Air Mauritius and Air Madagascar began in the Tananarive–Mauritius–Comoros–Nairobi and Réunion–Mauritius runs, following the lease of an Air Madagascar Boeing 737. During the early 1980s, routes to Durban and Johannesburg were inaugurated using Boeing 707-320B aircraft flown with Air India and British Airways crews. The incorporation of a second aircraft of the type, bought from Luxavia, allowed the carrier to expand the European route network to Rome and Zurich in 1983,[12] whereas Paris was added in the mid-1980s.[15] Leased from SAA, a Boeing 747SP named ″Chateau de Réduit″ entered the fleet in November 1984 (1984-11) and was deployed on services to London.[15] By March 1985 (1985-03), the fleet comprised two Boeing 707-320Bs, a Boeing 737-200, a Boeing 747SP and a Twin Otter.[16] That month, the first of two Bell 206 JetRangers was incorporated.[15] In April, a 46-seater ATR 42 was ordered,[17] and Singapore was added to the route network with a weekly service using Boeing 707 equipment. In June that year, Air Mauritius joined the African Airlines Association.[15] The carrier made a profit of GBP3.5 million for the fiscal year 1985-86.[18]

In 1986, a second Boeing 747SP that was also leased from SAA entered the fleet; it was named ″Chateau Mon Plaisir″. The incorporation of this aircraft allowed the carrier to phase out a Boeing 707.[15] In 1987, South African Airways' landing rights on Australian soil were suspended by the Australian government and Qantas ceased its operations in South Africa. There had been an increase in demand from businessmen since that time, as most passengers travelling from South Africa to Australia had to stop at Hong Kong, Taipei or Singapore.[19][20] Given that landing rights in Australia for Air Mauritius had not been approved yet,[19] a Boeing 747SP non-stop service to Hong Kong commenced on 29 October 1989 (1989-10-29), in cooperation with Cathay Pacific.[15] Flights to Kuala Lumpur had started in May 1988 (1988-05).[15]

An Air Mauritius Boeing 767-200ER on approach to Chek Lap Kok Airport in 2006. The airline received two aircraft of the type in April 1988 (1988-04).[21]

Valued at US$122 million and financed by a group of banks that included Barclays, BNP, Credit Lyonnais and the Spectrum Bank,[22] the company took delivery of two Boeing 767-200ERs in April 1988 (1988-04).[21] These aircraft were named ″City of Port Louis″ and ″City of Curepipe″.[21] One of them set a record-breaking distance for commercial twinjets on 18 April 1988 (1988-04-18), when it flew non-stop from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Mauritius, covering a distance of almost 9,000 miles (14,000 km) in less than 17 hours.[21][23][24] A contract worth US$8.9 million including spare parts for these two Boeing 767s had been signed a year earlier.[25] Also in 1988, a Boeing 707 was leased from Air Swazi Cargo to operate freighter services, and the first ATR-42 started revenue flights in December, replacing the Twin Otters on inter-island services.[15] A second ATR42 was ordered in September 1989 (1989-09).[26]

By March 1990 (1990-03), the route network included Antananarivo, Bombay, Durban, Geneva, Harare, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Moroni, Munich, Nairobi, Paris, Reunion, Rodrigues, Rome, Singapore and Zurich.[27] A new route to Perth was inaugurated in December 1991 (1991-12). Named ″Paille en Queue″ and leased from ILFC, the first Airbus A340-300 entered the fleet in May 1994 (1994-05); following delivery, a Boeing 747SP that was on lease from SAA was returned.[15] The airline became the first in the Southern Hemisphere to fly the A340-300.[28] A second A340-300, named ″Pink Pigeon″ and purchased directly from Airbus, was handed over by the aircraft manufacturer in October. Services to Brussels and Cape Town were launched in July and November that year. Also leased from ILFC and named ″Kestrel″, Air Mauritius' third A340-300 joined the fleet in April 1995 (1995-04).[15] The airline started trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius during the year.[29] In 1996, the last Boeing 747SP was sold to Qatar Airways and direct flights to Manchester were launched.[15]

In March 2016, Air Mauritius launched the 'Air Corridor' with its first direct flights to Singapore, which was previously served via Kuala Lumpur. The new route aimed at improving air connectivity between Mauritius and Singapore in order to stimulate the growth of passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Africa through these two hubs.[35]

Air Mauritius was the first Mauritian company with its majority owned by the state that made their shares public. Listing was granted in November 1994 and share trading on the stock exchange of Mauritius commenced in February 1995.[1]:170 As of 31 March 2018[update], shareholders having more than 5% of direct participation in the airline were Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. (51%) and the government of Mauritius (8.37%), while other investors held the remaining stake.[1]:153 Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. was in turn owned in its majority (43.83%) by the Mauritian Government. Air Mauritius Limited's wholly owned subsidiaries were Airmate Ltd., Air Mauritius Holidays Ltd., Air Mauritius Holidays (Pty) Ltd. Australia, Air Mauritius Institute Co. Ltd., Air Mauritius SA (Proprietary) Ltd., Mauritian Holidays Ltd. (UK) and Mauritius Helicopters Ltd.; partly owned subsidiaries were Mauritius Estate Development Corporation Ltd. (93.7%), Pointe Coton Resort Hotel Company Ltd. (54.2%), and Mauritius Shopping Paradise Company Ltd. (41.7%).[1]:164

In July 2014 (2014-07), during the Farnborough Air Show, it was announced Air Mauritius signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for six Airbus A350-900s, of which two will be leased from AerCap Holdings and with the option to place additional orders for up to three more aircraft of the type between 2023 and 2025. It was originally planned that the leased aircraft would join the fleet by the end 2017 and the other four would join in 2019 and 2020.[52][53][54] In February 2017 (2017-02), Air Mauritius announced that it would be leasing two Airbus A330-900neo aircraft from Air Lease Corporation to replace two Airbus A340-300E aircraft from September & October 2018. The two Airbus A350-900 that were due to be delivered in 2020, were pushed back to 2023. It was also announced that the airline’s existing aircraft would be refurbished with new seats, new inflight entertainment systems and onboard Wi-Fi. The revamp of the cabin interiors was planned to be completed by June 2018.[55]

^ ab"Boeing 7-Series – Fast Facts: Boeing 767". Boeing. Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. On 18 April 1988, an Air Mauritius 767-200ER set a new distance record for commercial twinjets--flying 8,727 statute miles (14,042 kilometers) from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Mauritius in 16 hours and 27 minutes.

^"Other News - 04/14/2006". Air Transport World. 17 April 2006. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012. Air Mauritius announced an overhaul of its long-haul product beginning in December on its route to London-Heathrow operated with two soon-to-be-delivered A340-300Es.

^"Other News - 11/16/2007". Air Transport World. 19 November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012. Air France Industries signed a multiyear contract with Air Mauritius for overhaul of 31 CFM56-5C engines and component maintenance of two new A330-200s to be delivered this month and at the end of 2009.

^"Other News - 10/29/2009". Air Transport World. 30 October 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012. Air Mauritius this week took delivery of a second A330-200 powered by GE CF6-80E engines.